Boris Kolesnikov, Deputy Head of the Chief Directorate for Commercial Crimes and Anti-Corruption Measures of the Interior Ministry, at the Basmanny District Court that is hearing a petition regaring his arrest for exceeding authority. (RIA Novosti/Alexsey Nichukchin) / RIA Novosti

The former deputy head of the Russian Interior Ministry’s anti-corruption department, Boris Kolesnikov, jumped off the balcony of the Investigative Committee building while being questioned on abuse of office allegations, the committee's spokesman said.

Kolesnikov – who
occupied one of the top positions at the Interior Ministry's
chief directorate, overseeing economic security and
anti-corruption – was arrested in February 2014 over accusations
he had abused his position.

He was being questioned on June 16 when he asked two guards to
let him use the bathroom. Kolesnikov knocked them over while they
removed his handcuffs and then jumped from the sixth story of the
Investigative Committee building.

“During today's interrogation, he went to the toilet
accompanied by two escort officers, his handcuffs were removed,
he ran out of the bathroom, knocked down one of the guards,
rushed to the balcony and jumped off the sixth floor. Kolesnikov
died from the injury,” said Vladimir Markin, official
spokesman for the Investigative Committee.

A pre-investigation check into the matter has been launched, with
Markin pointing out that Kolesnikov had attempted suicide twice
before, while in pretrial detention.

Kolesnikov, one of the youngest officials of the Russian Interior
Ministry to receive a general's title, was 36 years old at the
time of his arrest. Along with his former chief Denis Sugrobov
and several former subordinates, the young anti-corruption
general was detained after an investigation was launched into
their alleged involvement in organizing a criminal group,
soliciting bribes, and exceeding their authority. Kolesnikov was
one of the main suspects in the case, though no charges had been
filed against him yet and the investigation was still ongoing.

According to investigators, Kolesnikov and other former Interior
Ministry officers previously attempted to frame a Federal
Security Service (FSB) officer. They reportedly planned to pose
as businessmen, asking the FSB to take their business “under
protection” for US$10,000 a month. They then planned to
accuse the officer of protection racketeering as soon as he took
the bait.

Meanwhile, Kolesnikov's wife believes her husband was killed.
“He was killed!The murder was attempted twice since
May 5. All that's being said of the suicide is not true,”
Viktoria Kolesnikova told LifeNews, adding that she wasn't
allowed to visit her husband after the arrest. “He could not
have committed suicide. We have three little kids, he loved them
so much,” she said.

Kolesnikov’s lawyer confirmed his client had suffered head trauma
twice since his arrest and may have been subjected to physical
pressure. While in pretrial detention, he was hospitalized with a
head injury. The lawyer then said the general could not remember
how he became injured. Moscow's public watchdog committee which
supervises human rights conditions in detention areas was going
to look into the case.

Russia's Constitutional Court gives relatives the right to
protect the deceased's good name. If Kolesnikov's family wants to
continue, his case may still be brought to court. The other
detained former anti-corruption officers face up to ten years in
prison if found guilty.